Perreault−McCarthy: Basic
Marketing: A
Global−Managerial
Approach, 14/e- Focusing Marketing
Strategy with
Segmentation and
Positioning
Text © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 200284 Chapter 3
The data to be clustered might include such dimensions as demographic charac-
teristics, the importance of different needs, attitudes toward the product, and past
buying behavior. The computer searches all the data for homogeneous groups of
people. When it finds them, marketers study the dimensions of the people in the
groups to see why the computer clustered them together. The results sometimes sug-
gest new, or at least better, marketing strategies.^22
A cluster analysis of the toothpaste market, for example, might show that some
people buy toothpaste because it tastes good (the sensory segment), while others are
concerned with the effect of clean teeth and fresh breath on their social image (the
sociables). Still others worry about decay or tartar (the worriers), and some are just
interested in the best value for their money (the value seekers). Each of these mar-
ket segments calls for a different marketing mix—although some of the four Ps may
be similar.A variation of the clustering approach is based on customer relationship man-
agement methods. With customer relationship management (CRM),the seller
fine-tunes the marketing effort with information from a detailed customer data-
base. This usually includes data on a customer’s past purchases as well as other
segmenting information. For example, an auto-repair garage that keeps a data-
base of customer oil changes can send a reminder postcard when it’s time for the
next oil change. Similarly, a florist that keeps a database of customers who have
ordered flowers for Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day can call them in advance
with a special offer. Firms that operate over the Internet may have a special
advantage with these database-focused approaches. They are able to communi-
cate with customers via a website or e-mail, which means that the whole effort
is not only targeted but also very inexpensive. Further, it’s fast and easy for a cus-
tomer to reply.^23
Amazon.com takes this even further. When a customer orders a book, the Ama-
zon CRM system at the website recommends other related books that have been
purchased by other customers who bought that book.It is usually better to focus on the
needs satisfied by products
rather than on the product
characteristics themselves.
Customer database
can focus the effort